7/14/2019 12:25 AM PT

Ex-NFL QB Anthony Wright is lucky to be alive today ... a witness to his shooting last week says the former Baltimore Raven was "fading" quickly after he was shot in the back and chest.

It's all in new 911 audio obtained by TMZ Sports ... where a man says he saw Wright get shot "by a guy with a silver 9 millimeter" after an argument in North Carolina on July 1.

"He's breathing, but he's fading," the witness tells dispatch ... "He got shot right in the chest and in the back. Two shots."

Cops say the dispute that started the incident involved a custody situation with Wright's girlfriend's ex ... and led to the 43-year-old needing emergency surgery.

But, police said Wright was in stable condition after the operation ... and it's great news, considering the grim scene the witness painted to dispatch.

"He walked up to him and pointed the gun right at him then and ran off."

Police say they were able to arrest the alleged shooter, William "Willie" Moses Hooker Jr., a few days after the altercation ... and eventually hit him with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill charges.

Hooker is currently in a North Carolina jail under $1 MILLION bond.

Wright was a stud backup for years in the NFL ... playing for the Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and New York Giants.

He won a Super Bowl ring as Eli Manning's backup on the Giants team that took down the 18-0 New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.